


I Almost Lost You

by G_the_G



Category: The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (2015)
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-05
Updated: 2018-11-05
Packaged: 2019-08-18 20:52:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16524428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/G_the_G/pseuds/G_the_G
Summary: From the prompt "I almost lost you"





	I Almost Lost You

With an angry kick, Gaby flung her shoes across the room, lips twisting up in bitter enjoyment at the thud each shoe made as it struck the wall. Ilya only let out a small huff as he lumbered his way across their shared hotel suite and into the bathroom. To avoid strangling him, she made her way to the liquor cabinet; a far too often proven tactic.

Waverly must have had a sickeningly sadistic sense of humor as he’d once again paired them as a couple for their cover. She had put on a good face, gone along with the plan to a T. But there was only so much she could do to make it seem like she loved a cantankerous, volatile, Russian. Especially with Solo’s helpful asides. 

She heard the water running from the sink and downed the rest of her drink in one go, narrowing her eyes at the door that separated her and Ilya. When it swung open angrily, she knew they were in for it. Hopefully Waverly wouldn’t make too much of a fuss over the broken furniture this time.

Ilya of course made his way over to the ever-present chess set, staunchly refusing to look in her direction. Not surprising after she’d stomped on his foot to get some sort of reaction out of him at the dinner. For being ‘his woman’ he sure had been failing to act like it. So she’d made sure to rectify that. And despite her concerns about sounding like her uncle Rudi, pain was always a good motivator. 

Pouring herself another drink, Gaby sauntered over, stopping once she stood over his shoulder, and watched the contained game in front of him. After a couple moments of silence, she’d had enough.

“Ah, ever the devoted husband. Once again ensuring his wife is comfortable after a long and stressful evening.”

He huffed again and mumbled under his breath. It was too low for her to hear, but she took another gulp of her drink, squinting at the burn before she responded.

“What was that, my Russian friend? I didn’t quite catch your input.”

He swiveled to narrow his eyes at her, the scar along his forehead becoming more pronounced.

“It seems that you should be the one checking on me. It is lucky I did not sustain a real injury after your tantrum.”

She snorted and casually waved her glass towards him.

“I had to make sure you were still alive. For all your  _attention_  this evening, it seemed I was accompanied by a corpse.”

He focused back on the chess board, only tilting his head to the side as he commented in a confident tone, “I told you, a Russian husband would not be as attentive to his wife in public; especially not after a couple years of marriage.”

“And yet somehow people are supposed to believe I wanted to marry you in the first place?”

“Why not?” he scoffed. “I am good catch.”

She took a deep breath, feeling the fabric of her dress once again scratching the back of her neck as it had been all night. The only thing she’d felt other than his cool limp hand in hers and the faintest touch at her waist when he’d led her through one obligatory dance.

“A good catch is a husband who would actually interact with his wife—the wife who he is  _in love_  with; not act as though it was a chore to be seen with her.”

He hummed, pinching at his chin and reaching out to move his knight before answering. “And you know so much about this, how?”

“Because that’s not how you were in Italy!”

Ilya stilled, but did not look up as he muttered. “That was different.”

His fists slowly clenched, but they were not trembling, so she pushed ahead.

“Different? Why was that different? Because you were only my fake fiancé and still able to woo me? Because you were jealous of Vinceguerra? Because you only feel romantic after being robbed, or after beating up men in bathrooms, or on the side of Italian mountains after being run off the road?”

“No,” he nearly yelled as he jumped up. She didn’t move as he loomed, staring down at her, his chest heaving with his deep breaths.

She remained still, waiting for more, but he turned and took three large steps away from her. When he didn’t say anything, she asked again, “Then how was that different?”

“Because,” he said before his voice trailed off, shoulders pulling back.

Gaby stomped her way over to stand in front of him once more, drink in hand as she folded her arms and raised her eyebrow at him. They shared a glare before he closed his eyes, his jaw clenching. He didn’t look at her and his voice was quiet, but when he spoke his voice was clear.

“Because I almost lost you.”

After a deep breath, his body loosened, giving up the fight as he let his head drift down, nearly touching her forehead with his, but never fully reaching her. His hands cupped her elbows, her fingers gripped the glass tighter, and she began to lean closer. She felt that old pull that always drug her closer to him, that always made her want to forget everything else and focus just on that one moment. His breath fanned over her face. She closed her eyes. The phone rang, and they leapt apart.

Ilya stood there jaw clenched for another couple rings before trudging over to pick up the receiver.

“Hello,” he spoke gruffly, once again looking at the carpet, at the table, at the window, but not at her.

The unmistakable sound of Solo’s voice came over the line, and Gaby dropped her shoulders, setting the rest of her drink down and picking up her robe as she made her way to the bathroom.

She wasn’t sure if they’d made any progress tonight, or if they ever really would. But she had confirmed what she’d always known. All the Russian blathering and posturing aside, the real Ilya cared. And for now, that was enough. At least until they had to go out for another mission and he acted like an idiot once more.

**Author's Note:**

> Wrote this over two years ago and it's just been chilling out over in the hellmouth that is my [tumblr](http://awww-brain-no.tumblr.com) ever since.


End file.
